Helicopter crash kills nine members of Afghan military: ministry

• Nine Afghan security force members die in a helicopter crash late on Wednesday.
  
• The helicopter was hit by a rocket during takeoff in central Maidan Wardak province, say sources.
  
• Meanwhile, four people were killed and nine wounded when a roadside bomb hit a bus carrying Afghan government employees in Kabul on Thursday.

Nine Afghan security force members died in a helicopter crash late on Wednesday, according to defence ministry.

Two sources told Reuters the helicopter was hit by a rocket during takeoff in central Maidan Wardak province.

Meanwhile, four people were killed and nine wounded when a roadside bomb hit a bus carrying Afghan government employees in Kabul on Thursday.

The blast hit a bus which was rented by the Afghan Ministry of Information and Technology to transport employees, said Abdul Samad Hamid Poya, a ministry adviser.

Read more: US envoy Zalmay Khalilzad meets Afghan Taliban in Doha

No one claimed immediate responsibility for the blast, but the Afghan government has blamed Taliban for recent attacks targeting government employees, civil society figures, and journalists.

The Taliban has denied involvement in the campaign.

The bombing comes on the day the Afghan government, Taliban, and key countries, including the United States and Russia, gather in Moscow to push for a reduction in violence to propel the Afghan peace process forward.